Bonderman frustrated by second half

DETROIT -- Jeremy Bonderman looks back and wonders what happened to his 2007 season.

"It stinks," Bonderman said Monday. "I had the opportunity to do a lot of good things. I was 10-1, and then I won one game (after July 13). Pretty pathetic, if you ask me.

"Every year, I want to get better, and I didn't do that. It stinks."

Notice that Bonderman never mentioned the sore right elbow that cost him the final three weeks of the season. The elbow had been bothering him for several weeks before he admitted to the pain, but even now Bonderman doesn't accept the injury as the cause of his horrible second half.

After going 10-1 with a 3.50 ERA in his first 17 starts, Bonderman then collapsed to a 1-8 record and 7.78 ERA in his last 11. He'll finish with a 5.01 ERA, after three straight seasons in which his ERA fell.

"Bonderman's got to get better," manager Jim Leyland said. "It's simple. Plain and simple. And I think the biggest thing is that we all have to quit talking about him being the guy. Just be Jeremy Bonderman. Win 17 or 18 games, in a freak year maybe 20, in a bad year 14."

Bonderman would have made one final start tonight, but he was scratched after reporting some soreness. Bonderman emphasized Monday that the soreness had nothing to do with the elbow injury, and also that he believes he can keep the elbow healthy all of next year.

"I just have to do what I'm told and follow the program," Bonderman said.

TIGERS NOTES
Ordonez has healthy lead: With five games to go, Magglio Ordonez is hitting .358, after going 1-for-3 in the Tigers' 2-0 loss to Minnesota Monday night. Seattle was off Monday, so Ichiro Suzuki is still batting .350.

To put that in some perspective, if Ordonez goes 5-for-20 in the Tigers' remaining games, he'd finish the year at .354. Assuming four at-bats a game, Ichiro would then need to go 13-for-28 in Seattle's remaining seven games to win the crown.

Is there any chance the Tigers would hold Ordonez out of the lineup to protect his lead? Leyland said Monday that it's doubtful, unless Ordonez's left heel is so painful that he's unable to play.

"If he's all right to play, I'll play him," Leyland said.

Silva sharp: Monday's game wasn't played with much intensity on either side, but starting pitchers Nate Robertson and Carlos Silva both had good games. That was especially important for Silva, who could be one of the top pitchers in a very underwhelming free agent market this winter. The Tigers could be looking for a veteran starter if Kenny Rogers doesn't return, but Silva could well end up out of the price range they have in mind.

Another hard-luck loss:Robertson fell to 8-13, and the Tigers are now 25-36 over the last two years in games he starts (as opposed to 155-103 when he doesn't start). But this was definitely a hard-luck loss. Not only were the Tigers shut out, but all three Twins hits against Robertson came on balls that shortstop Carlos Guillen was unable to make plays on.